Maybe Someday
by Hirosikata
Summary: Sometimes the path to finding your love is hard. JuliaxNakatsu [complete]


Disclaimer- I do not own Hana Kimi, so please do not sue. I have no money.

The golden haired girl looked out her window into the starry night from where she was laying on her bed, pondering over her own advice. 'The Game of love is won by he who moves the swiftest.' She had told Mizuki nearly three months ago. Now, here she was, back in America, thinking about that annoying 'Burning Lion of Osaka", Nakatsu.

He would never win Mizuki's heart. She had been dead set on Sano for too long. Perhaps he realized this by now and had gone back to that old girlfriend of his, Komari, or whatever. It didn't matter to her one way or another, or at least that was what she was trying to tell herself. Telling yourself you weren't in love with an annoying, pig-brained, thinks-he's-gay man living thousands of miles away was not the same as not being in love with him.

She turned over to face the wall where a picture had been taped up from her trip to Japan. She had one arm around Mizuki, whom was gazing way too obviously at Sano at her side. Rio was at her other side, grinning happily as she pinched Nanba's cheek, who had somehow snuck into the photo. A few other friends from Saint Blossom High were grinning in the background.

Finally, there was Nakatsu, although Mizuki had forced him to be in the picture, he wore a happy, goofy grin. He was looking at Mizuki. She could feel her heart breaking for the millionth time she looked at it, which was odd, she had no idea why it made her hurt so much.

She had never had a boyfriend. Few boys had actually liked her; she scared the crap out of most guys at school half of the time. Those that were brave enough to ask her out were shot down instantly, she had better things to do than waste her time on a stupid boy who would break up with her the second a prettier girl came along. That's why Nanba annoyed her so much, he was a player and didn't seem to know the word 'no'. It was quite funny, though, that he had still chased after her even after she had nearly broke his nose.

With a final restless turn, Julia turned on her light and grabbed a pad of paper and a pencil. The world seemed to disappear as she began to write. It felt as if she was spilling her entire soul onto the paper. It lifted her weight off her chest and she finally felt like she could breath for the first time in months.

Her eyes drooped with sleepiness as she did one more thing. She grabbed a postcard and turned it over in her hands as if making sure it was real. It read '_I'm coming home for Christmas.'_ Five simple words were powerful and her heart soured with joy. The postcard was from Mizuki.

Mizuki stretched out on Julia's bed, grinning like a maniac. Sure, she had told Julia she was coming home, but she never said the day she was coming. When she had told Julia's mom about her surprise she had happily obliged to let her in, even greeting her at the door with homemade cookies, looking exactly like an older and even more beautiful version of Julia.

In her hand were some pictures that Akiha gave her from the modeling job Sano, Nakatsu, Nanba, and her did. Looking at the clock, she groaned, Julia still had half an hour left of school. She tried stretching out, but her arm hit the wall, causing a shelf about her to shake and a notepad hit her strait in the head.

Shrugging, Mizuki flipped through it carelessly. There were a few doodles here and there, an occasional homework assignment or unfinished poem. Something caught her eye. It was what looked like a three-page letter addressed to Nakatsu. '_Nakatsu?'_ Mizuki questioned.

After reading the entire thing, all Mizuki could do was stare. Footsteps became louder, coming up the stairs outside the room. It was no doubt Julia; thirty minutes had passed easily after finding the letter. Without thinking, something she rarely did anyway when it was important, or so she had been told, she ripped out the letter and stuffed it in her pocket. Quickly jumping up, she shoved the notepad back on the shelf.

The door opened to find Mizuki in a very suspicious position, standing on her bed, grinning goofily. If Julia noticed, she didn't say anything. Instead, she screamed and enveloped Mizuki in a tight bear hug, laughing. For the rest of the vacation, they were almost inseparable.

While unpacking from her trip nearly a week after her return to school, to which she used her 'I'm a procrastinator at heart and will never change' excuse, something that had become quite famous at home and kids everywhere in her hometown used as an excuse, when she rediscovered Julia's letter stuck in between a pile of cloths. It was slightly wrinkled, but still in good condition.

After a few more moments of staring, she tore off down the dorm hallway to find Nakatsu. When he finally came into view, he was sitting on a bench, eating.

He blushed when she greeted him, and tried to hug her, but she was becoming a master of evasion. "Heh…heh," she laughed nervously, "Um… Nakatsu… I-erm… this is for you," she finished and shoved the papers into his hands before turning and rushing back to her room. Nakatsu blushed, 'A love note… from Mizuki!'

But as he began reading, his face slightly fell and a look of shock spread over his features. This defiantly wasn't from Mizuki. But, after a few more moments, a light blush settled on his cheeks and a small grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Julia was in a panic, where was her letter? It was gone! Then, it hit her like a bowling ball. 'Mizuki' she thought in anger.

Nakatsu stared from the letter to the phone beside him, contemplating on whether he should call her or not. He ran a hand through his hair. What was he thinking about? He was in love with Mizuki, right? But, just as he thought that, a picture of Julia appeared in his mind, grinning, her eyes sparkling with joy. He pulled down on his hair.

They would not be good for each other he decided. They lived in completely different countries. They constantly fought. You couldn't take her anywhere, guys would stare, she was so beautiful. Plus, Nanba liked her, not that that mattered, but he didn't need Nanba as an enemy.

Without thinking he picked up the phone and dialed the number that was written at the bottom of the letter. It was Mizuki's handwriting. He had to admit that Mizuki could be pretty stupid at times, cute and defiantly funny, but still stupid, but somehow she seemed to had known that he wouldn't want to ask for the number. It would have been too embarrassing. He was supposed to be in love with her after all. 'Supposedly.' He thought in shock, 'Of course I'm in love with Mizuki. I'm just calling Julia to tell her I don't like her. Yeah. YEAH!

He dialed the phone number. After a few rings, a woman answered the phone. A wave of nervousness hit him. It wasn't a small wave, either, it was more like a tsunami, "Hello," he said, suddenly shy, "Is Julia home?"

"No, I'm sorry, dear," the woman on the other end told him, "Oh, wait, she just walked in the door. _Julia, Phone!_"

The urg to hand up the phone loomed overhead, but he convinced himself that would be cowardly, and he was no coward, "Hello," he heard Julia's boisterous voice greet.

"Um, uh, hi," Nakatsu returned, a blush creeping onto his cheeks yet again. Silence ensued.

"Who is this?"

"Oh," Nakatsu blushed. How could he forget his name at such an important moment? 'Just tell her you don't like her!' "I'm in love with you!"

'That didn't go according to plan.' More silence ensued before Julia said perfectly calmly, "If this is some crazy stalker, I will find you and beat your ass."

Nakatsu didn't seem to hear that last part, as he was still trying to say he hated her, not loved her. She just got in the way of his relationship with Mizuki. "This is Nakatsu."

The silence was getting to be unbearable, "You love me?" She questioned quietly.

"No," he said firmly, "I hate you. You butt into my relationships, you dared Mizuki, your mean, you insult me. We'll just end up killing each other," with a groan and a shake of his head he continued, "Your pretty and your smart. Of course I like you. But, I love Mizuki."

There was no pause this time. "Goodbye." Julia didn't wait for a return farewell before hanging up.

Nakatsu rested his head on the wall behind him. 'What have I done?'

Stepping off the plane, Julia searched the crowd for a familiar face. The face she saw wasn't whom she had wanted to see. She had been hoping that Rio was going to pick her up, or even Doctor Umeda. Not Nanba. The man grinned at her cockily; he was basking in the attention the other women in the airport gave him. She rolled her eyes. She had met all of Osaka's Dorm RA's and she had learned that they all had huge egos. 'Idiot.'

"Hello beautiful. You're staying with us over the summer, or so I heard."

"Us," she questioned darkly.

"My mom is making me come home for break. All of us are going up to her hotel."

"All of us?"

"Me and you," he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, "Rio, Umeda, a few friends from school, even Mizuki, Sano, and Nakatsu are working there again…that's everybody."

'Nakatsu…'

After three days at Nanba's mom's hotel, Julia couldn't say she was surprised. It was like nothing had changed since she left. Mizuki was still clueless, Sano was overprotective, Rio was sweet, Nanba still dove her crazy, and her and Nakatsu still fought and argued.

She was sitting on the beach, watching the sunset. She felt him sit down next to her, "Hey monkey face," she greeted him.

He didn't retort. Sitting back, he allowed sand to get in his gold hair. "You know what? I think we could have been friends, Julia."

Julia shot him questioning look, but he held a hand up to show he wasn't done. "And maybe, friendship would have evolved into love. I'm not sure, but I'm willing to become friends now and see what happens down the road."

"What are you saying?"

He closed his eyes; "I've realized I will never be with Mizuki; once you open your eyes it's obvious he's in love with Sano. Maybe someday we'll fall in love, but until then, maybe we can be friends. Real Friends."

Julia felt a small smile creep onto her face, "Friends sounds nice," an evil smirk spread across her features, "As your first act as my friend, your first job is to gat me away from Nanba. He's been sneaking up on me at inopportune moments, and doesn't seem to get the message when _I_ knock him in the face."

Nakatsu laughed, "Sorry, I don't want Nanba to knock me in the face right back.'

"Loser," Julia replied, sticking her tongue out and pulling down an eyelid.

Her golden tresses were piled on the top of her head. She wore a lavender dress that swirled around her feet, but she wasn't the one in the spotlight. It was Mizuki's day to shine, her wedding day. And, boy did she look gorgeous. Her now shoulder-length brown hair was pulled back in an elegant bun. Her white dress was made of silk, and puffed out. She looked like a fairytale princess to say the least.

'Sano is one lucky man.' She thought. They were all now 22, Julia was finishing up college back in America, or at least for her bachelor's degree in writing and she was going for her master' s to teach at a college level. She was also planning on writing a novel documenting Mizuki's life.

Sano was quickly becoming one of the most well known sports trainers in Asia. Mizuki had somehow opened up a business that helped girls get the guys they wanted. IT kind of reminded her of the American movie, _Hitch_, but it was a little less secretive and she didn't have to loose her business to gain a guy. And even if her clients didn't get the guy they originally wanted, they got a guy who was truly made for them, somebody better.

Nakatsu stood at the entrance to the chapel, grinning slightly. His hair hadn't changed at all since high school; it was still the same gold. He looked handsome. She nearly burst out laughing remembering how shocked he was half way through senior year at finding out that Mizuki was a girl. He called her all worked up over it, in a complete state of shock; it had taken over three hours to calm him down and explain everything.

They walked down the aisle. Rio and a few other girls were waiting behind her. Julia smiled; she had never thought she would be a Maid of Honor for anybody. Nakatsu was also smiling and whispered, "You look amazing."

"So do you."

After a few more steps, he continued the conversation, "I've missed you," he had been playing soccer for France, "I've been thinking."

"Didn't know you could do that."

"What?"

"Think."

He glare at her before continuing, "I'm ready to not be your friend. I'm ready to admit I'm in love with you."

A light blush settled on her features, "I'm in love with you, too."

As Sano and Mizuki exchanged their vows, Nakatsu and Julia could hardly take their eyes off each other for a second. He mouthed, 'I love you,' to her. She smiled. His eyes told her unspoken promises for the future. Promises he meant to keep.

A/N: This fic did not go in the direction I had planned, but it still turned out ok. It was not one of my better stories, I believe. But, then again I have trouble with wanting to put up my good stories. I'm too lazy.


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